Competency Centre Manager

About Methods:

Methods is a £100M+ IT Services Consultancy who has partnered with a range of central government departments and agencies to transform the way the public sector operates in the UK. Established over 30 years ago and UK-based, we apply our skills in transformation, delivery, and collaboration from across the Methods Group, to create end-to-end business and technical solutions that are people-centred, safe, and designed for the future.

Our human touch sets us apart from other consultancies, system integrators and software houses - with people, technology, and data at the heart of who we are, we believe in creating value and sustainability through everything we do for our clients, staff, communities, and the planet.

We support our clients in the success of their projects while working collaboratively to share skill sets and solve problems. At Methods we have fun while working hard; we are not afraid of making mistakes and learning from them.

Predominantly focused on the public-sector, Methods is now building a significant private sector client portfolio.

Methods was acquired by the Alten Group in early 2022.

Role specification

Reporting to the Senior Competency Centre Manager, the Competency Centre Manager plays a key leadership and management role. They are responsible for developing, deploying, and supporting consulting talent across Methods’ delivery in IT Enterprise Services. They acquire the best talents from the market and, as line manager, then enable their career progression, supporting the development of capability that will contribute the design and business development of a specific practice (for instance: Cyber, Digital, Cloud or Change). CCM will ensure project teams have the best talents at the right time, on the right role and the right cost, always maintaining high levels of utilisation. To do so, the Competency Centre Manager works closely with Project Delivery, Sales, and Operations team to deliver recruitment, resource planning, skills development, management and capability growth.

The Competency Centre Manager is accountable for delivering team plans, including headcount, budget and performance objectives, while actively managing the professional development and progression of consultants under their remit. They serve as a key escalation point for consultant assignment and engagement matters, while supporting the shape and design of service offerings relevant to their practice area.

Key Responsibilities - within Methods Competency Centre

RECRUITMENT

• Build a recruitment strategy in close collaboration with sales and delivery to support the growth of the company.
• Execute the recruitment plan for the team, leading interviews and consultant assessments to build a high-quality pipeline of new recruits, in collaboration with our recruitment team.
• Build and maintain a steady pipeline of consultants candidates and proactively recruit top talent in advance to meet future business needs.
• Lead the execution of the annual team development plan to deliver the necessary expertise to support the business ambitions in the UK

MANAGEMENT

• Manage the onboarding and probation process for new consultants.
• Manage the bench & overall team utilization with a business-focused approach to maximize productivity and support the company’s profitability.
• Ensure accurate and timeline reporting and communication with all functions.
• Collaborate with finance and operational leads on budgeting and workforce planning.
• Act as escalation point for consultant professional and personal issues.
• Contribute to continuous improvement.

DEVELOPMENT

• Support professional growth through coaching, feedback, appraisals, and career development plans.
• Ensure training needs are identified and addressed.
• Keep the skills matrix updated to ensure accurate visibility of team capabilities and expertise.
• Support the development and promotion of service offers aligned with team capabilities.
• ENABLE BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
• Work closely and collaborate with the sales and bid teams to support business development opportunities.
• Align consultants with the right assignments/projects based on their skills, experience, and project requirements.

Key Responsibilities - within Consultant Experience and Support

• Foster a positive and collaborative team culture.
• Encourage knowledge sharing through mentoring and training, while also supporting career planning and professional development. Maintain regular engagement with consultants to support their satisfaction and ensure everyone stays informed and aligned.
• Promote wellbeing and provide support with absence management.
• Ensure compliance with HR policies and guidelines.
• Monitor and track consultant performance to support continuous improvement.
• Promote diversity and inclusion.

This role will require you to have or be willing to go through Security Clearance. As part of the onboarding process candidates will be asked to complete a Baseline Personnel Security Standard; details of the evidence required to apply may be found on the government website Gov.UK. If you are unable to meet this and any associated criteria, then your employment may be delayed, or rejected. Details of this will be discussed with you at interview.

Requirements

• Minimum of five years’ experience in a leadership, team management, or capability management role, preferably within consulting or the public sector.
• Strong experience in resource and team management, workforce planning, and bench utilisation management.
• Demonstrated success in recruitment strategy development and execution, including interviewing and hiring high-performing consultants.
• Track record of managing team budgets, headcount planning, and performance targets.
• Ability to influence, negotiate, and build trusted relationships across the organisation.
• Strong people management skills with the ability to coach, mentor, and develop consultants at different career stages.
• Ability to deliver accurate, timely reporting across multiple stakeholders

Benefits

Methods is passionate about its people; we want our colleagues to develop the things they are good at and enjoy.

By joining us you can expect:

• Autonomy to develop and grow your skills and experience
• Being part of exciting project work that is making a difference in society
• Strong, inspiring and thought-provoking leadership
• A supportive and collaborative environment.

As well as this, we offer:

• Wellness 24/7 Confidential employee assistance programme.
• Social - Breakfast Tuesdays, Thirsty Thursdays and Pizza on the last Thursday of each month as well as commitment to charitable causes.
• Time off 25 days a year.
• Pension Salary Exchange Scheme with 4% employer contribution and 5% employee contribution.
• Life Assurance of 4 times base salary.
• Private Medical Insurance which is non-contributory (spouse and dependants included).